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MARK
BLUNDELL
Mark
Blundell
illustrated
his
driving
talent
in
North
America
in
his
rookie
season
in
the
PPG
IndyCar
World
Series.
Driving
a
1996
Reynard/Ford
Cosworth
for
the
PacWest
Racing
Group,
Blundell
is
the
only
driver
in
the
IndyCar
and
the
first
to
compete
in
the
series
since
Nigel
Mansell's
final
year
in
1994.
Blundell's
racing
career
began
in
Moto-Cross
at
the
age
of
fourteen.
In
three
years
he
won
196
trophies.
1984,
his
first
season
in
the
professional
arena
of
FF1600,
he
notched
up
25
victories,
24
pole
positions
and
21
fastest
laps-
still
unmatched
by
any
other
British
or
Commonwealth
driver.
1985
in
senior
level
FF1600
he
won
the
Esso
Championship,
finished
second
overall
in
the
British
Championship
and
became
BBC
Grandstand
FF2000
Champion.
He
remained
with
FF2000
in
1986
finishing
second
in
the
British
Championship
and
becoming
overall
European
Champion.
1987
Mark
made
the
leap
into
International
F3000,
by-passing
the
traditional
F2
stepping
stone.
He
also
competed
with
his
own
racing
team,
Fleetray
Racing,
using
a
Lola
chassis.
1988
Mark
was
a
F3000
works
driver
for
Lola
Motorsport
achieving
second
place
and
sixth
place
finish
in
the
F3000
International
Championship.
The
following
year
he
competed
in
F3000,
won
a
test
contract
with
the
Williams
team
and,
as
a
factory
driver
for
Nissan
Motorsport,
competed
in
the
World
Sports
Car
Championship
achieving
a
podium
finish.
In
the
Le
Mans
24
hour
race
in
1990
when
he
became
the
youngest
driver
ever
to
reach
pole
position,
with
a
six
second
margin.
That
same
year
Mark
was
retained
by
Williams
as
a
Grand
Prix
test
driver
and
a
factory
driver
of
the
Nissan
team
in
the
World
Sportscar
Championship.
1991
Mark
graduated
to
Formula
1
driving
for
the
Brabham/Yamaha
team;
quickly
demonstrating
that
he
had
the
speed
by
securing
the
first
world
championship
point
for
Yamaha.
1992
Mark
became
principle
test
driver
for
Honda/Marlboro/McLaren
and
won
the
Le
Mans
24
hour
race
with
the
Peugeot
Sport
Team.
As
Formula
1
driver
for
the
Ligier/Renault
Team
Mark
secured
two
podium
positions
finishing
tenth
in
the
World
Drivers
Championship.
Moving
to
Tyrrell/Yamaha
1994
Mark
achieved
one
podium
position,
plus
two
top
six
places,
finishing
twelfth
overall
in
the
World
Drivers
Championship.
Mark
replaced
Nigel
Mansell
as
a
Formula
1
driver
for
Marlboro/McLaren/Mercedes.
Finishing
in
the
points
five
times,
he
took
tenth
place
in
the
World
Drivers
Championship.
Mark
also
competed
with
Gulf
Racing
in
the
Le
Mans
24
hour
race
where
he
finished
in
fourth
place.
Mark
has
made
the
successful
transition
from
Formula
1
to
IndyCar,
despite
a
major
accident
in
Rio
caused
by
a
component
failure.
His
recovery
from
the
serious
injuries
that
he
sustained
resulted
in
an
enforced
withdrawal
from
the
series
for
a
five
week
period.
However,
Mark
returned
to
race
in
the
US
500
in
Michigan
in
May
where
he
finished
in
fifth
place.
He
has
gone
on
to
finish
in
the
points
in
eight
out
of
the
ten
remaining
races,
achieving
a
third
place
spot
in
the
Rookie
of
the
Year
stakes.
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